Italy: EIB and CDP strengthen partnership to support italian economy

• The two institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote public and private investment in various sectors: infrastructure, digital transformation, social housing, sustainability and the circular economy, and renewable energy.
• An initial contract concerns a €535 million guarantee granted by the EIB Group to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti on financing for regions. This will enable CDP to provide over €1 billion of new resources to public entities for sustainable projects, particularly in the centre and south of the country.
• Under a second advisory agreement, the EU bank will offer advisory services to optimise the selection and financing of green projects.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) have signed three agreements to consolidate and strengthen existing operational synergies. The goal is to promote public and private investment in Italy, improve the selection and financing of green projects and trigger over €1 billion in new financing for public entities, particularly in the south. The agreements were finalised at a meeting at the CDP headquarters in Rome attended by delegations headed by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and CDP CEO and General Manager Dario Scannapieco.

Memorandum of understanding

The memorandum of understanding renews an agreement signed in 2009, intensifies cooperation between CDP and the EIB Group — which includes the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF) — and identifies new operations and potential areas for collaboration in Italy and beyond. It aims to promote public and private investment in sectors that are key to the country's development, namely sustainability, digital transformation, social housing, urban regeneration, sustainable mobility, education, research and social impact, the circular economy, innovation and competitiveness in the Italian production system, renewable energy and energy efficiency, water and school construction.

The EIB Group and CDP will take a number of actions to address these challenges, starting with the joint planning of strategies to meet the targets of the Italian Climate Fund and to continue to expand activities in support of development finance. This will be in addition to cooperation under the national recovery and resilience plan and InvestEU, as well as possible opportunities to work together on CDP's strategic plan for 2022-2024.

A form of operational cooperation between the institutions is also planned to enable the cross-cutting utilisation of their expertise across the various areas of activity.

Financing guarantee for regions

To enable Italian regions to implement and complete increasingly complex and sustainable projects, the second agreement provides for the EIB Group to grant a €535 million guarantee on financing that has already been provided by CDP in this sector. This guarantee will have a positive effect on CDP's asset ratios, meaning it will be able to finance over €1 billion of projects for regions and local entities by 2025, with 20% reserved for initiatives combating climate change and a further 20% for regional projects in the southern regions and areas affected by the 2016 Central Italy earthquake.

Advisory

Lastly, the third agreement is part of the Green Gateway advisory programme created by the EIB and the European Commission to help European financial institutions to structure and finance investments for green projects. The EIB will provide CDP with technical and financial advisory services to strengthen CDP's operational capacities, procedures and mechanisms — including in their work with public entities — to encourage the planning, selection and financing of projects with positive environmental impact.

“The agreements signed today — including the memorandum of understanding aiming to further strengthen our already excellent partnership with CDP — will enable us to support Italian regions with over €1 billion and pave the way for future opportunities for cooperation between the two institutions in the public sector, with a particular focus on southern regions and environmental sustainability, key points of both the national recovery and resilience plan and InvestEU. As the world’s largest multilateral financial institution, the EIB works with national promotional banks to reach as many companies as possible. With our advisory services in place, we know that CDP is an excellent partner we can count on,” highlighted EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti.

“By signing these three agreements, CDP is consolidating its fruitful long-standing partnership with the EIB Group. The guarantee agreement for over €500 million strengthens the synergy between the two institutions that has already been tested in the fields of infrastructure and support for Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps. This agreement will amplify the impact of CDP and EIB financing in support of Italian regions, generating positive effects in terms of social cohesion and combating climate change. With the memorandum of understanding and the advisory agreement for green operations, CDP is implementing the elements of its strategic plan for 2022-2024 related to strengthening technical skills, primarily to support the public administration and national recovery and resilience plan — including through the exchange of officials between the two institutions — and the consolidation of operational synergies in the EU sphere,” said CDP CEO and General Manager Dario Scannapieco.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (EIB) finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Between 2019 and 2021, the EIB Group provided more than €36 billion in financing for projects in Italy.

The Green Gateway also offers an online portal providing guidelines, case studies and useful information on green investments. The portal also provides access to the Green Eligibility Checker, a tool (also available in Italian) that allows the assessment of the eligibility and climate impact of green economy investment projects for numerous sectors.

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) is the national promotional institution and financial institution for development cooperation that has supported the Italian economy since 1850. It is committed to accelerating the industrial and infrastructural development of the country in order to contribute to its economic and social growth. CDP’s core activity promotes the sustainable development of the regions as well as the growth and innovation of Italian companies, including internationally. It partners with local authorities, providing funding and advisory activities to build infrastructure and improve public utility services. It is also active in the area of international cooperation to implement projects in developing countries and emerging markets. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is financed from entirely private resources via passbook savings accounts and postal savings bonds and through issues on the national and international financial markets.